Quote for today

The greatest crimes in the world are not committed by people breaking the rules but by people following the rules."
— Banksy

It's how you listen

"listen with affection and a kind of jolly excitement"

Which country is the largest english speaking nation?

Answer: China.

As at May 2009 - 2 Billion people are learning english as a second language.

As Mathematics is to science and music is to emotion, English is become the language to engage people and communicate.

420, a little meme

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/420_(cannabis_culture)

Playrights to lookout for

Playrights to seek out:

Edward Albee
eg Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Goat or Who is Sylvia? and Three Tall Women
Harold Pinter
eg The Dumb Waiter, The French Lieutenant's Woman
Samuel Beckett
eg Endgame and Waiting for Godot
Tom Stoppard
eg Indian Ink, The Real Thing
Michael Frayn.
eg Noises off

The worlds we build for ourselves

Went to see Synecdoche, New York last night.

This is complex and confusing

I think it is about the world we build for ourselves and our endless search for meaning. It perhaps warns us against to much self examination. Something that seems to be increasingly popular at the moment. The world gets more and more complex with real people living in the created worlds.

The idea of hiring an actor to play you in a play and then another actor to play the actor in the same play is just crazy. The relationships between the interconnecting worlds cause one to challenge the self imposed rules that I placed on the characters and that kaufman knew that I would.

I think I am become a huge Kaufman fan. I think I need to get some of the DVD's and watch them again:

1. Synecdoche, New York (2008)
   
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
3. Adaptation. (2002)
4. Human Nature (2001) ... aka Human Nature
   
5. Being John Malkovich (1999)
   

The house that burns all the way through is just very puzzling. What does this represent?

Signal to Noise ratio

High ratio means that you cannot find what you want.

Email Bankruptcy

When you have like 3,000 unread emails and you know you will never get to them all, you send all unread email senders a note saying you are declaring email bankruptcy and then you delete all the unread emails.......

Between the devil and the deep blue sea

The combination of cartoon and actor is just brilliant, reminiscent of vaudeville, or silentish cinema

A series of vignettes each different and each very clever.

Wonderful job 1927, great to see creativity so alive and well.

Leaders that pull up the ladder behind them

Strong leaders, people we admire and respect, people who seem to know what to do and when to do it, people with confidence, perhaps a little arrogance which we forgive them for.

These people just seem to do everything right, or at least enough right that the world is a different, hopefully better, place for them and there vision and action. Indeed when they are gone the world is place that how have things that we probably did not even dream before.

I am thinking of perhaps Winston Churchill, John Kennedy, Margaret Thatcher, Martin Luther King, Gandhi

Why is there such a vacuum after them?
Is there really a vacuum at all?
It is inevitable that true greatness is comparative and so inevitable in short supply?

When does experience count?

Apparently few mathematics advances are discovered by people over 40 - you don't get to be a better mathematician with age apparently. However Biology related discovers are more common in the over 40's beyond a certain point at least.

Experience counts for one but not the other.

Perhaps some experiences help and some do not. Perhaps experience help in Mathematics but other factors serve to neutralize the effect?

In golf professional golfers peek between the age of 30 and 45, here perhaps experience and physical ability work as opposite interests. As Every golfer knows Golf is more about the mind than it is about physical ability. Tiger Woods turned pro at 22 won his first major at 23.

What about Chess? Garry Kasparov became world champion at 22 which he held until he was 37. Suggesting that intellectual capacity is available and important at relatively young age.

............

The next bloody idiot award goes to .....

ANZ

Charging me $25 for going over my account balance by $10 at the ATM. Do they have figured out that instead of saying "sorry you don't have enough funds" they just give you the money and charge $25 without warning.

They probably have some analysis that shows that customers:

1. don't blame the bank when the customer goes overdrawn
2. don't leave because of this

They then came to the conclusion that this was money for nothing and they could not resist.

This may be true in the short term, but here is at lease one customer that will not buy more from ANZ because of this. In fact banks have found it very difficult to get customers to buy other products outside the basic normal ones. While customers trust banks and are not unhappy with the service they are reluctant to buy other products from them. In part, in my opinion, because of the types of behaviours in billings and fees that I recently experienced.

I've Loved You So Long

Last night I went to see this film. Today a melancholy has descended. Why?

The film is powerful as described in the reviews and Kristen Scott Thomas puts out ones of the best performances I have seen in a while. Actually all the actors do a great job.

The story is nothing really special, nothing that we haven't seen you. The prison of the mind blah blah blah.

Why the melancholy? Certainty there is something here about the futility of life and the meaningless of it all. Scott Thomas captures the feels so well and reminds me of some thoughts I would rather forget. For today this film has really struck a chord that will resonates on.

Customer

Listening to a talk about the music industry yesterday.

The quote to remember - "When you have come to think of your customers as the enemy then you know its not going to end well."

In the example, the music industry resisted online downloading and tried to stop it rather than recognizing it as a great opportunity. They got court out by thinking that they controlled the distribution channels. The technology created new possibilities that they failed to anticipate. This is not usual. Most new Technologies do this to some extent.


Does this apply to financial services also? Perhaps in a slightly different way. Certainly it feels like banks use there position to control what customers can do and they change things in quiet a disrespectful way. Will it change? will technology come the rescue of the ordinary bank customer? Will the any new players end up like the old ones, corrupted by money and laziness?

Movies from the Film festival part 1

Young @ Heart

• What a great film, I hope that I am like this at there age

Grow your own

Crossed Tracks

• Nice little thriller

Quiet Chaos

• A man who world falls apart. after the wifes death

Black Ice

• Finland reminds me of Canada

Fugitive Pieces

• A bit self indulgent for me

Bloody Idiot award

Bloody Idiot Awards:

I decided there needs to be an award for people or organizations that are so out of tune with current thinking and culture that the only thing that I can think of is to call them a bloody idiot.

First award goes to Optus for charging you to pay the bill. They charge for all internet and electronic billings but not for cheques.

Second award goes to anyone who thinks Wikipedia is a bad thing.

Respect

Respect is a word rooted in our internal beliefs about the value of another human being. It is a word to describe the fundamental nature of a relationship between humans.

Goal 1: Showing respect at ALL times. A patient, agendaless respect

Goal 2: Receiving respect at ALL times, Expecting to receive respect at all times. Staying respectful in cases of adversity and stress


Footnote:
Does one receive respect?

Broome reflections

To remember

Big Sky and long flat beach into the Warm warm Indian ocean.
The super friendly and service oriented people
Waiting to long for dinner and getting a couple of free pints
The sky observation lession
The free ride to the airport from the scooter guy
The pearls, the expensive pearls. No deals here

In the end there is really not much to do here, but it is a nice place.

Over the Fence Film festival

Generally a disappointment, but some good movies

Movies included, the good:

• You Better watch out
• Shit Happens

Movies, the mildly amusing:

• Animal Instincts - fighting animals
  
• The Long Wooden Tobacconist - Quebec
  
• The note - The letter tells and guides the story
• Edgar and Elizabeth -kind of sweet, not no real ending
• Silencer
• Nobody likes a Mime - two mimes meet and one gets revenge on the other
  

Movies , the not so good:

• That Cow film
• Bubbles
• Bad Timing
• Peanut butter fish pockets
• Richard
• No regrets, No remorse

Heart of Gold Film Fest

Quiet a little surprise

Highlights for me

Cheat Neutral
Validation - everyone needs validation

Very Good

Butterfly Man
Bloody Footy
Estranged - wrong number
Fancy - Umm FANCY!
In the Mood
Big Girl

OK

Fast Spin Fling
Sad Dog

Painting

Been Painting the living room.

Painting the board walls is easy, fast and very rewarding. In 15 minutes you can stand back and you have changed the room. The feel and feeling you have in the room is very different.

But after that initial feeling it is not so great. It is obviously missing something. It is not finished.

There are the edges. The edges demand patience and concentration. (Aside: I Don't really like to use masking tape it generally does not stick well and create a complete seal and so when the tape is removed if edge is always fuzzy. I like the old fashioned approach of painting the line)

In order to get the edge straight and clear you need to be up close and use skills and techniques learned from previous painting experiences. However you also need to stand back regularly and ensure that the line is straight, you need to get some perspective to ensure the line has not strayed from the line needed.

It occurs to me that this is not unlike running a business. You need to get into the detail because it is in the attention of the little things that success is found. However the detail without knowing the line of travel can be misleading. Time and time again the businesses I see do not get this.

Another thought, 1 day later I am examining the wall, overall it looks great, but as I get closer I notice some fluff off the paint brush and the occasional rough patch. This reminds me that when i was painting the wall I realize what a poor job the last paint job was. Look close enough at anything and you can see the problems. Even the wall begins to seems dented and not square.

Stand back, enjoy beauty of what you have created.

Today's Wonders

Watching a train enter a tunnel. There is something inevitable and smooth about the train seemlessly disappearing.

HQF - High Quality Foam on the morning coffee. Soft and firm and ceamy. Yummy.

What time is it at the South Pole?

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=468

Seems odd, perhaps there are only 2 times, winter and summer

Flight

OK I guess I basically have some understanding of the concepts of evolution and it generally makes good sense, but when I think about something specific, it is more difficult to understand. Flight, for example, how did flight start? Lots of theories are around, most seem to be simply that theories based on the possible, with little evidence.

Flights seems like such a binary thing. Either the bird can or cannot fly. How do you go from arms to wings or even gills to wings, in the case of insects?

There is evidence about adaptions once flight has been achieved and it is easy to image how selection improvements might improve flight.

There are plenty of theories about what happened and why it happened. But how did it happen really? What is the process by which a gill becomes a wing. It would seem to be a multi- generational set of changes that are more that random genetic variation. What forces where at work? What are the intermediate stages. It occurs to me that for Evolution to be successful all the variations that ultimately lead to flight must also be beneficial in their own wright. That is if, say full flight is 10 generations from gills in a insect. Each of these generations must have been at least moderately successful. Successful enough to be able to ensure survival to the next generation.

Can it really be that animals descending of trees developed gliding and ultimately wings? Fossel records seem currently to be missing the transitional species that would provide the clue to the path taken to flight. Why are these transitional species missing? Is is because in fact fossel records are extremely incomplete? Is if that these transitional species existed for only a short time?

More I think about this the more mystifying it appears to be. Evolution must certainly be a complex and amazing process.


http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/vertebrates/flight/converge.html

Release me

I am the wilderness locked in a cage
I am a growing force you kept in place
I am a tree reaching for the sun
Please don't hold me down
Please don't hold me down

I am a rolling wave without the motion
A glass of water longing for the ocean
I am an asphalt flower breaking free but you keep stopping me
Release me
Release me

I am the rain that's coming down on you
That you shielded yourself from with a roof
I am the fire burning desperately but you're controlling me
Release me
Release me

Memories or Melbourne

• Pha Lap and other legends
• The whole town dressed up and partying for the week
  
• The Melbourne Cup
• MCG and MCC
• The Mornington Coast
• The Ridge and Tgallant and Ten Minutes by Tractor
• Victoria and South Markets
• Jan, friendly and direct and Imaging Philip Island
• Disappearing in the Dendenong Ranges. Rhododendrons and Broad Mountain Vistas from Yering station winery

Ganhi on Happiness

"Happiness is when what you say, what you think, and what you do are in perfect harmony." -Gandhi

Leaders

“A leader has the right to be beaten, but never the right to be surprised”

– Napoleon Bonaparte.

The human condition

Alternating Bored and Scared and sometimes both.......

What do we value

Do we value art oddly?

We appear to:

• Old over the new
• Dead over living
• Technical proficiency over passion

Art is expression of emotion, why have we imposed these values? Do we need to do this to help us know how to react?

Existentialism

Existentialism

A philosophical movement of the 19th and 20th centuries stressing individual freedom and human choice;

Existentialism is based on the idea that human beings shape their own existence and give meaning to it through their own choices and actions.

French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980).

narcissists

What is the collective noun for a group of Narcissists.


A Flock - No
A Herd - No
A Murder - Maybe
A Management team - that seems to fit. Appropraitely oxymoronic
An abandonment
A Mug, Suggested on http://www.ojohaven.com/collectives/)
An Inflation?
An Asylum?

.......

Culture vs legislation

The new privacy legislation

Companies widly ignoring or not understanding it.

eg eatingwa required to capture personal information by a sponser that is breaking privacy rules (with no disclosures etc)

What do YOU do when faced with this prospect?

People and Culture

When the project team wanted to implement new electronic communication in police cars they wondered about how to do this across the state.

They figured out that police are really good at reacting to a critical situations and not so good at planning and organising and preparing.

They decided that implementation teams would arrive unannouced and immediately require compliance and implementation from each police station. The result was that police team worked within their normal operating envirnment

Lending

When you lend money you want to know will the person pay it back.

You have to assume things during this process. What is it ok to assume?

Is it ok to assume there current salary will continue?
Is it ok to assume house prices will rise?
Is it ok to take into account illegal earning?
Is it ok to take thier word for it?

Fundimentally I think that as with life you should start with principles. What are your Principles? Then follows process and action.

Happiness

Does comparison make us happy?
Do we need to be able to compare ourselves to be happy?

Compared to others,
Compared to ourselves 5 years ago........

I hope not but perhaps there are no absolutes, perhaps we cannot be good at tennis without implicitly being better than others.

But then is we have a sense of humour that means we make people laugh, does that imply that others are not funny? What about if we are kind to someone, is that only kind because other have not been. Does kindness only exist next to rudeness or can kindness relate to taking time to think and act with regard to anothers needs.

hummm

Forgiving

Why are we so accepting of our own failing while being so hard on others?

Why do we work so hard to look for the negatives and even figure out ways to turn positives to negatives?

Self-pity is easily the most destructive of the non-pharmaceutical narcotics; it is addictive, gives momentary pleasure and separates the victim from reality.

-John W. Gardner

Nurture your minds with great thoughts. To believe in the heroic makes heroes.

-Benjamin Disraeli

Short films on July 5

LAST NIGHT (ED PARK, AUST, 2008)
The end of a relationship… a car accident ends it all

ASCENSION (STEPHEN IRWIN, AUST, 2007)
Train spotters, strange religious cults, and the apocalypse come together in this
Queensland produced comedy.

RUBBERHEART (BRIAN CRANO, USA, 2007)
A chance meeting in a video store, a shared movie, and a very, very odd date.

THE MAN AND THE ALBATROSS (DANIEL BORGMAN, NZ / DANISH, 2007)
A moving short about loneliness, belonging,and sorrow.

DJ DAZZ (TOM JACKSON, AUST, 2007)
Dazz is a DJ, but sometimes the best laid
plans can slowly unwind…

What do you want ?

Bring Sarah Back, I want to bring Sarah back
There has been a mistake, I want to replace Sarah
Why am I left here while Sarah is gone.
Leaving feelings.

Gone, how can she be gone? I just saw her,
she must be hiding somewhere she can be gone
What is this numbness in my brain?
Why has my brain stopped working?

While I dream of a life well lived, Sarah lived it, a positive wake is left
As she swam, sailed, walked and run, the energy is left on smiles and in the minds.
Children are healed and mysteries explored.
Great and pure and inexplainable joy are here as sadness.

There is no why, no reason, no rhyme, to song, no rules, no karma, no justice, no patterns,
Just time, one second at a time is gone.
What is it? How cruel is this? The edge of existence, why?
Philandering, Phorgetful, Phloundering, Phucking Shit

Your wave bob

The art and act of giving.

A gift is best when it has value to the giver or it took something away from the giver, perhaps it took time.

Gifting something you don't want is ok, but it is more like directed disposal.

Greave, Prey, Hope or Shop

What to do when something bad happens?

"Our enormously productive economy… demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption… We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced, and discarded at an ever increasing rate."

- Victor Lebow, 1955

ANSWER: SHOP

Louise Bourgeois

At the Tate modern.

She Certain knows how to torment. She seems to examined and obsessed about her life and the people in it. THe particular hate is directed at her father. All in all an interesting experience. I need a drink.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Bourgeois

Australia Impressions 6: Fake Competitions

This is totally insulting and robbery. I don't know who does this but this is really bad.

• For $5 you can will $10,000 by telling them by SMS which ocean is next to WA, A or B.
• A personal fortune cookie for only $9
• Sign up for X for $5 sign up plus $4 per day.....

This is totally immoral and should somehow be illegal.

Miram Margolyes: Dickens Women

Remembering:
Summary

• he took is characters from real life, from people he met.
  
• he did not get over much and used his writing to express how he felt
• He did not like women.
• Some books published in installments in the weekly newspaper. A story of how a character changed was the person the character was based on complained and got a lawyer
  

Details

• 17, lots of 17 year olds, due to the death in his family of a 17 yr old girl
• He first love from the houses of parliament and there later meeting when she was poor and he was famous - he took his revenge
• his first job was as a label sticker in a shoe blacking company

All in all an entertaining evening

Cost of flight (per km)

We all the talk about discount airlines I was looking for information on actual costs. I found the following airline costs breakdown which is interesting, i think:

Cost per available seat Kilometer is around A$0.08/km ($80 per 1,000km). This suggests that a flight from Perth to Sydney costs around $290 for the airline. (assuming 3,500 km).

Obviously all airlines are a little different with different cost structures, and many of these costs do not vary with the volume of flight, short flights will be more expensive per km that long ones etc.

The breakdown by component is something like:

• Fuel 28%,
• Operations costs 40%,
• Finance related 12%,
• sales, marketing and overhead 20%

When I look up flights on Tiger airways I often get a revenue of around $80/1,000 km less for the deals and more for the popular flights. If this is true it will be all about how full the planes are. Reasonably full, Tiger will do well and make money. An important dynamic is that most of these costs are fixed so discounting below $80/1,000 km makes sense to fill seats in the short time but not in the long term (this is the bane and joy of the airline industry)

Need to think about Co2 emissions.......

Wonderful Swan Valley Wines (WSV)

For a good wine that first sip is just magical, the intension favours and smells bring a grin.

John Kosovich Wines

Park under the 80 year old vines and enter the musty Underground Cellar. The cool and wonderful smelling prepares you for the tasting. The Son (Anthony) now runs the winery and you probably get to talk directly to him as you taste.

The Vergelho is excellent as is the Chardonnay an the Shiraz. They also make a Liqueur which is very well regarded, although I have not tried it.

Lamont's

Cool and relaxed feeling under the trees. Meal – small bits, squid excellent, nice olives, noisy wine tasting area on weekend.

The SSB and Family reserve are excellent.

Houghton Wines

Huge old pine trees mark the picnic play area that is a favourite spot on a sunday afternoon. It is going to be busy so don't come for a quiet time.

the wines are great as you would expect. We have the Premium white (apparently 30% of what they sell and $10 per bottle its a great everyday white), the crofters SSB and Cab Merlot. The Jack Mann is just getting so expensive ($200+) so we don't bother with it.

Carbon Offset

The Basics - What we use.

Based on the various Web sites we use about 11 tonnes per year (Lots of variation in this number)

Ways to reduce:

• Plant a tree on the sunny side of the house
• Light bulbs - we have the small spot lights so we need to wait for LED lights to become available
• Use the bike - must do this more often
  

Ways to remove catbon:

• A new tree has to be the easiest.
• The amount of Co2 absorbed per tree appears to vary widely from web site to site. Some sites say 170 kg per tree, others suggest around 20-22 kg/yr of Co2.
  
• So you need between 6 and 50 trees per tonne. These must be net new trees and of course there are lots of other benefits.

Death at a Funeral

Took awhile to warm to this movie, the dialogue misses the mark and just isn't funny at the start. Perhaps I needed an attitude adjustment. As the story matures the plot turns and deepens reality gives way to incredulity. A classical fase there is nothing really new here but a good entertainment. A lot of familiar faces but no hook actor, no A list star to take all the attention or get it from the audience. I wish it didn't really need one, but it does, someone to bring the other performances together and make this a story.

B for effort. I am surprised at the Rotten tomato rating, seems high

Terrorism, the modern warfare

Terrorist are people at deliberately target civilian populations. Its not related to specific political or religious ideas, it is related to trying to kill people who have no direct intention to do you any harm.

Is this a reasonable? Does it matter that those civilians are sending other people to kill you. Are there really any rules in war, other than to win. What is winning anyway?

Life X3 By Yasmina Reza

Excellent play. Entertaining, thought provoking.

3 acts that are the same but unfold differently depending on how the characters react to the situation. The reactions are complex without easy stereo typical sets and reactions, but the connection between action and reaction is clear.

Traffic Deaths in WA

Summary of stats-

• WA Deaths per 100,000 people in 2007 will probably reach 11. (up for the second year in a row)
• WA death rates where up over 20% in 2006 vs 2005 with passenger, pedestrian and cycle deaths up over 45%
  
• Australia rates in 2006 are 8.7 per 100,000 people
• In England 2006 the rate was 5. Five years ago England and WA where similar now more people will die in WA than in London.
  
• In WA deaths where the posted speed limit is less than 60km per hour are up 50% in 2006 vs 2005
  
• Rural Roads are a factor, but accident rates are above Canada with a similar rural profile and winters that should make accident rates considerably worse, Canada road deaths are 9 per 100,000 people.
• While death rates are down in WA total actual road deaths in WA has hardly changed for 25 years, unlike Australia as a whole where total deaths are down substantially
  

Option

• Accident rates in WA are above the average in Australia and way above other countries, a large part of this increase is coming from Urban areas.
  
• Something needs to be done, targeting urban areas.
  
• Cars have improve, but driving and attitudes worsened, these areas need to be focused on.
• Recent surveys suggest speeding is a major concern for WA residents
• Root courses for the recent increase are unclear, may be connected to recent economic success
  

Suggestions

• WA should consider risk based insurance premiums that would weed out persistent speeders by making it to expensive for them to drive.
• Implement speed cameras, on mass, like the UK.
  
• Driver education
• Increased penalties for Killing people with a car. This appears to be regarded as accidental judging from recent court cases.
  
• Increase penalties for speeding and drink driving, particularly when speeds of 40km per hr over the speed limit.
  

Well Well whale

Went Whale watching, what a wonderful and welcome way to end the week

Totally surprised by the effect. I knew it was going to be good but wow these are calm, interested, peaceful, playful creatures that happen to be 40 tonnes. It is that combination of size, speed of movement and inquisitive nature that is truly awesome. The calm and the excitement is deeper than the ocean they swim in.

Common Dolphins are also all around them chatting and playing.

This is an amazingly spiritual experience, the benign power gives me hope that the world is good and that Gaia will take care of us. The connection to something bigger than us. I will think of these whales often and wonder what they are up to as I go about my little life.

What it is to know something?

The Egyptians understood the relationship between angles and sides length in a right angled triangle but did not know that A^2+B^2=C^2. They had tables for every triangle they knew. The formula is very powerful, the can predict as yet unknown triangles.

Newton was able to describe gravity but he did not know how gravity works. It took Einstein to figure out how gravity works hundreds of years later. Newton thought Gravity acts instantaneously across any distance. But Gravity cannot travel faster than light. Newton got this fundamentally wrong but what it did has huge value. We could predict the impact of gravity but only as long was we stayed within certain parameters, but we did not understand these parameters.

What does this mean for what we know and how we know other things?

Global Warming for instance.

We know a lot, but we really don't know how the world works, how all the components of the world interact, this means that we cannot accurately predict over the long term and we don't understand the parameters under which the predictions we do make are true. But still we need to act and can act with some confidence. When is the information enough information to act?


Reference: Lost Discoveries by Dick Teresi

Thought for the day

Ability is what you're capable of doing.

Motivation determines what you do.

And attitude determines how well you do it.'

(remember Focus, Will and Capability HR Model)

Observations on Australia 5

• Product and retail names are often descriptive and obvious, e.g. sausages are thick and juicy, you get beds from the bed shed and furniture from the furniture spot.
  
• Advertisements are clearly and obviously embedded in the TV shows:
• e.g. the Gardening Guru show will include a section of Sheds and it will read totally like an advertisement for a specific shed installer.
  
• Another example is some of the restaurant reviews on eatingwa.com.au web site. This "independent" review is so obviously an advert. They are obviously written by an interested party. What impact will this have on people?
  
• The Morning TV show is the same, presenters pushing cheap exercise equipment.
• The TV cook that gets his salt out of the packet every time and uses paper towels for no particular reason
  
• This must work, I wonder why. This would not be a surprise in the US, but in Australia it surprises me. Need to look up the advertising standards.
• Also it is difficult to sell these programs overseas if the ads are embedded
  
• What is going on with the politeness or dislike of negativity?
  

• The movies in the news paper have a star rating system from 1 to 5 but even the totally worst movies get 3 stars. There has been no 1 or 2 star movies since I have been reading it.
• Similarly the restaurant reviews on eatingwa.com.au rarely get worse than 3 stars out of 5 and often you read the words on a review and they are negative and appear not to have had a good time which seems out of line with the rating
  

• The Australia idol reviews are all really quite polite, sue the say negative things but then it is always sprinkled with several positives.

• Sporting analogies are everywhere. Lift up your game, seems a universal suggestion.

• Cars are King here (don't step out into the road you will be run over, kind of like Italy, not like Canada) Even at intersections, the car is king, kind of rude really, once the metal box is on there is no need recognize the people sharing the space with you. Speeding on side roads also seems very common and different to the main roads where this is generally compliance with limits.
  

Ability to Change is more important than Intelligence or strength

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."

- Charles Darwin

People to Learn from: Hunter S Thompson

This person I do not understand at all.

Initially he makes me think I don't understand anything.

On further reflection it is great to see a person live there own life without reference to others or what others might think.

Many of us dream of this, flew achieve it or really even try to.

Reference -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_S._Thompson

When you are walking through Hell

When you are walking through hell walk faster

(Eisenhower?)

Sound advice?

Sicko, by Michael Moore

This movie really resonated. Points to remember:

• People are easier to Govern when that low confidence are uneducated and unhealthy, they don't think let alone challenge.
  
• What kind of democracy is this?
  
• Some things are good in the private sector and some things are not. We should never forget or change this.
• I don't agree with Moore's solution , but something needs to be done. the Singapore model seems good or even the France system with compulsory insurance with premiums based on percentage of income
• The comparisons to Cube are very interesting, obviously only part of the story, and obviously a bit of properganda on Cuba's part, but still interesting.
• The choices over which finger to save one for $12,000 and one for $60,000, without medical advancement neither finger would have been savable, so now we can save both, who should pay and how should they pay?
  
• The way the insurance works seems close to criminal. The risk based insurance model just does not work well.
  

Additional Thoughts

UK vs US
UK government actually spends less per person than the US government on health care (from page 123 of the book - Undercover Economist by Tim Harford). Yep the UK gets free health care for everyone for less US Government spends on health care administration and Medicare programs for the few.

Democracies and the Vote to change things
To Tony Ben's point about the Vote, In Australia it is compulsory to vote. You can spoil the ballot if you feel particularly angry that your right not to vote has been infringed, but you must attend the poling station and vote (or face a fine). This means that the vast majority of people vote and generally take a greater interest in what the government is doing that the US. What would happen to political leaders in the US if everyone had to vote? Would it help if leaders could not ignore the poor that they know won't vote anyway under the current system?

Links:
http://www.michaelmoore.com/

Recent Movies

Bourne Ultimatium

Fast, well crafted, really well shot with get technology and acting, you find your self walking very fast out of the cinema, and realise that everyone around you is walking fast, care is required in the parking lot to make sure your run over on the way out

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bourne_ultimatum/


Lucky miles

This is a comedy from start to finish, you are never really worried about the survival and safety of these people in the middle of no where, the outback seems like a gentle, friendly relaxed place. The humour is unassuming and quietly confident. Really great entertainment.


Shut Up and Sing

How quickly people change and turn on there own. The entire country music scene turned on the Dixie Chicks. What they said seems so harmless really, nothing compared to what the US government said and lied about. Why are people so believing? The Country music industry should be ashamed of what you did, with was time for leadership not simple reaction of the anger that they had helped create through there own news reporting of what happened.

Overall I think a lot more of the dixie chicks and Natalie Maines in particular.

Remember FUTK.

Roots and Wings

Parents need to give there children 2 things, Roots and wings. When I think about this I cannot honestly say that my parents understood this, although we have some good times.

Perhaps the goal of every interaction we have should be to give each other roots and wings.


Reference: ABC Show

Seven Blunders of the World

1. Wealth without work
2. Pleasure without conscience
3. Knowledge without character
4. Commerce without morality
5. Science without humanity
6. Worship without sacrifice
7. Politics without principle

—Mahatma Gandhi

Schadenfreude - Pleasure from others misfortune

Be honest how often is this you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schadenfreude

People to Learn from: Alan Turing - What is right is always in context

Alan Turing's contribution to the war and to computer science is huge, I mean really big. So how come he was treated so badly for something that today would not be considered a problem at all (IE was Gay).

Who where the people that actually treated him badly?
Why was is OK to judge someone for something that is so personal and private?
At our worst we so fear any difference so much that we do anything to destroy it, yet we all seek to be and understand our own uniqueness, why?
There where people that knew Alan was gay, but did nothing at the time he was arrested, why?
What part does culture play?
What is happening to the world now?
Which direction are we moving in?
Which direction do we want to move in?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing
http://www.turing.org.uk/

DYEP

DYEP –Dry your eyes princess

Banana Pancakes for today

Can't you see that it's just rainin'
There ain't no need to go outside

But baby, you hardly even notice
When I try to show you
this song It's meant to keep you
From doin' what you're supposed to
Like wakin' up too early
Maybe we could sleep in
I'll make you banana pancakes
Pretend like it's the weekend now

And we could pretend it all the time
Can't you see that it's just rainin'
There ain't no need to go outside

But just maybe, like an ukulele
Mama made a baby
I really don't mind to practice
Because you're my little lady
Lady, lady love me
Because I love to lay here lazy
We could close the curtains
Pretend like there's no world outside
And we could pretend that all the time

Can't you see that it's just raining
There ain't no need to go outside

Ain't no need, ain't no need
Can't you see, can't you see

Rain all day and I don't mind

The telephone singing, ringing, it's too early
Don't pick it up
We don't need to
We got everything we need right here
And everything we need is enough
It's just so easy
When the whole world fits inside of your arms

Do we really need to pay attention to the alarm
Wake up slow, wake up slow

But baby, you hardly even notice
When I try to show you this song
It's meant to keep you
From doin' what your supposed to
Like wakin' up too early
Maybe we could sleep in
I'll make you banana pancakes
Pretend like it's the weekend now
And we could pretend it all the time

Can't you see that it's just rainin'
There ain't no need to go outside

Ain't no need, ain't no need
Rain all day and I really, really, really don't mind
Can't you see, can't you see

We've got to wake up slow

The house of my soul.....

The house of my soul is too small for you to enter:
make it more spacious by your coming.
It lies in ruins: rebuild it.
Some things that are to be found there which will offend your gaze;
I confess this to be so and know it well.


St. Augustine
The Confessions

from www.toddhiestand.com

Australia: First Impressions part 4

• The metric system does not include babies (birth weight in lbs only please) and TV's (in inches)
• Look, Look this is really important, look there are differences and that is it, look, the word look is very important to help emphasize a point and provide credibility through a feeling of confidence. OK?
  

More recent Films

Corroboree

Over a weekend scenes from the director’s life are performed. The lead role visits different rooms encountering five actresses who all portray key women in the director’s life. They rehearse the boy to play the lead role in an as yet ‘unmade film’. The dying director watches young boy’s progress as he searches to inhabit the director’s identity.

It is bazaar tale, told unusually and creatively. It took me a day to figure it out after having seen the film. It is great to see something that does not follow the usual formula and the plot is cool. Just not sure how good the execution and the acting where. Was the lead character just acting badly or phenomenally well?

Overall it was enlightening to be introduced to the approach and the film

Puffy Chair

A sophisticate scrip which expert observation of people and relationships, underlaided by some real family loving acts and kindness. We can all relate.

From the start you worry about the relationship which seems to be clearly headed for trouble. It is not clear why they are really together and this is explored by the characters as they travel to take the chair to their father for his birthday. In the end the chair doesn't matter as so many things don't and what we all know in the first 5 minutes they know by the end.

This really well written, filmed and acted. Just a great ever day story told.

Monkey Warfare

We have all felt angry, and we have all wanted to blow the world up to create change when we where young from time to time. When something seems so wrong.

The story is of 2 maturing rebells and a youth, a story of middle age, of settling, of acceptance and the struggle against it. Youth teaches the old, or reminds the old.

In the end the pointlessness is understood

Recent Movies from the film festival

Bunny Chow

• 4 friends (practicing comedians) hang out in Jo berg, perform the thing, attend a rock concert.
  
• very nicely written, with some real surreal touches
• Funny moments - The bar owner and his wife, buying drugs on the street, the pool party, the car trip in the old merc.
  

Expiration date

• the story - the main characters are preoccupied by imminent death, by milk cart or by cancer. The usual understanding and misunderstanding and happy ending
  
• who knew dairy products delivery could be this dangerous
• the story takes a little while to get going but it is nicely written
  
• Moments to remember - the coffee shop and coffee making, the mother - "are you naked", the flower shop

Sidekick

• A movie about superheroes
• Set in the world of comic book nerds and office jobs. One day his wish comes true when he discovers that obnoxious office jock has REAL super-powers. ‘With power comes responsibility’ never rang so true. Sweet, funny and at times scary, Sidekick surpasses many of its adversaries made with ten times the budget. It is fun and thoughtful.
• While the plot is great and overall the film works, the acting and the script do need work. Looked at more closely.

When you need to remember your sense of humour

http://monty.python.videowall.sytes.org/

These are cool

This is very cool (or at least it has kept me amused for hours)

http://www.jacksonpollock.org/

This one also in an feng shui kind of way..... Misty line is my favourate

http://www.wildcard.jp.org/


This is a neat idea also... (very imaginative)

http://two.xthost.info/ww2/lightgraffiti/

Another rock in the backpack on this project

heard this term today. Liked it, would like to us it ...........

Australia: Observations 3

These include:

• Government ads on TV - the amount of social engineering that is still taking place is interesting, reminds me of how I imagine England 30 years ago. The usuals like no drinking and driving, but also government policy explanations and health suggestions. I guess this is true everywhere, but it just more so here, with some TV ad breaks being only Government ads.
• No Starbucks, :-)
  
• Full on rainbows where all the colours are obvious, the best rainbows I have ever seen.
• Use of new terms like, crook, stuffed up and full on.
  
• TV ads are often local business based, not so much brands and big multinations. I wond how these big companies split up there ad budgets. Is perth just to small?
  
• The number of retailers for home products, furniture stores is amazing. very few chains, lots of small owner stores.
  
• The nationalism is huge. WA products, Australia made is such a big thing. There assumption that they are better.
  
• The importance of familar things to me is a surprise, the great joy from listening to the radio again (ABC) after not having one for 3 months, the strange and compulsive need for Marmite.
• The ABC is world class, the Radio, Radio National, Enough Rope.....

On painting my Mandala

Care needs to be taken, to visualise, protect, nurture the pattern and patterns that form into my mandala, not for its own sake or to be the alter but for the impact on being that it has. Necessarily symbolic and metaphysical and anacdotal not to be symbolized for all.

Meditation and self examination are key to reflect and draw down and out as the unconscious becomes known. It is not creating it is discovering and plotting and peacing together, eaking out an picture was the world grows and changes.

........ more is required

Writers to watch out for

Great writers of today:

David E. Kelley - Boston legal, Ally McBeal, The Practice, Chicago hope, LA Law
Amy Sherman - for Gilmore Girls
Bill Lawrence - for Scrubs and spin city
David Shore - House MD and Due South
David Warry-Smith - Due South

Privacy policies and respect

Increasingly privacy policies seam to be about explaining how little privacy you will have and giving you no choice if you want to buy the product.

Interesting points of concern:

• A note that information will not be sold, but will be shared with other vendors from time to time as concerned necessary by the company
  
• Requests for non relevant information as required for the transaction
  
• requirements that it information is not provided the sales transaction will not be completed

Examples:

An insurance company requires that its customer information be shared with all subsidiaries
Honda declaring that they will share your information with "various other companies"

Privacy policies should be about respect and choice. Requiring only actually necessary information for the transactions and letting he customer decide how much other information is shared.

Personal Guidelines:

1. Never give out Post Code, Address, Phone number or date of birth
2. Web sites requiring this information will get false information unless it is necessary for the credit card transaction
3. All Web site that automatically enroll you in update emails get cancelled or reported as junk.
4. Actively avoid organisation with poor privac policies when buying
5. Low likihood of buying more from an organisation that have insisted on sharing my information as a condition of the sale
6. Addition information has to be purchased in some reasonable direct way eg 15% discount if...

On pruning Olive trees

Summary:

1. Pruning happens all the time, you never stop pruning
2. Step back and look at the overall picture, keep the main structure correct and don't worry about the small branches.
3. It is the new growth that flowers and carries the fruit, prune the old wood mostly to allow the new to flurrish
4. Stress the plant to ensure the fruit, but leave it strong enough to carry the fruit
5. Keep balance, look to develop 3 main branches. More at it is to crowded, less it has to little fruit
6. Think about the prevailing wide direction and prune according to encourage the tree into the wind.

Other factors in growth of Olive tree:

1. too much watering and the plant grows quickly and the wood is weak and bends easily so will not support the fruit
2. The tree needs to be free to flex and bend with the weather, this will create string roots

Crudely Crude Awakening

Certainly learned a lot, and I get the message, we are in deep shit, we are running out of oil and there is almost no political leadership or practical alternatives.

Oil is amazing, it is cheap for the work that it can do and this has driven the world economy more than any other single thing. 70% of oil product is used in transportation. Around about now (2007) oil production is peeking and the way it declines is unclear. Quickly, slowing who knows.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum

The result may well be war, depression and worse

This movie was crudely done, constantly being bombarded with facts and predictions and reminders of the short life expectancy of hydro carbon man. (http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/). Deliberately pessimistic, hopeless and depressing.

Thought for today

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams, live the life you're imagined


Henry David Thoreau
http://thoreau.eserver.org/

The Goat or Who is Sylvia?

Middle-aged life crumbles when the main character falls in love with a goat.

Edward Albee is a master at manipulating your feel. It is funny, awkward, unsettling, real, shocking, enlightening and as I left the theatre I had a silly grin on my face that could not be removed despite all my efforts and some guilt.

Exploring and challenging the limits of society and what “normal” is what the arts should do that this does it very well. A truly great play of our time, when this liberal society has so may rules and is so closed minded.

Each character is real, even the goat. Everything changes in moments, perhaps, we are all only moments away from world changing moments. The family reaction is primitive and challenging and unexpected, but clear and understandable. The detail in the word games and shows an amazing understanding of the human brain. What is really going on here?

Apparently "Who is Silvia" from Shakespeare's play The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Proteus is in love with Julia but then falls for Silvia and will do anything to win Silvia over. Silvia’s intentions naturally lie elsewhere, but Proteus is blind to this, and schemes and calculates. Julia does not give up here pursuit of Proteus. humm. (from Wikipedia)

Thought for the day -

It is our earth, not yours or mine or his. We are meant to live on it, helping each other, not destroying each other.

- J. Krishnamurti

Australia: Other First Impressions

• Clouds, who would believe the clouds could be so different
• Suspicion of anything new or different. These people can be remarkable closed minded. Had an interesting discussion with a young, asian, female, mine project manager who admitted she preferred to hire locals who new the mine vs the experienced overseas workers. To her credit she acknowledged that it was not great, but the risk seems to high to hire the unknown and somehow knowing the person had local knowledge was valued. Interesting. She believed her own position as a mine project manager was earned and not the result of anyone taking a "risk" on a person that did not fit the mold. Interesting, human nature everywhere.
  
• The postal systems that really works. Posted late today, gets there tomorrow morning, in Canada the same thing took 3 days.
• AFL, this is a great game, very entertaining
• Ageism, they appear to be trying to figure out issues of age that seem obvious to me.
  
• Carrots and Eggs. Carrots are refrigerated but the eggs on the the shelf next to the tins? Does that sound correct.
• Mrs or Miss or just Ms. I heard someone say that their doctor was irritated when a patient would not give her title. The doctor insisted that it was important her medical treatment, when pushed is suggested that it tells him if she is sexually active. What planet is this doctor from? How does it ask the men?
  

Candy again and Lantana

These moving show the strength of the Oz film industry.

Lantana is a neat suspense thriller with Anthony LaPaglia. Its your usual tail of unrelated stories slowing interconnecting with inevitable consquences. It is all to tidy in its mess for it to really be a great thriller.

In Candy the end to seems slowly inevitable. It is easy to relate and follow the difficult path. The screen smells. Overall nicely done.

The Power of Direct to Consumer Advertising - Example

Per Freakenomics blog -

"The advent of television, and particularly TV advertising, is what turned the toy industry into a juggernaut. Why? Because, for the first time, manufacturers could market their goods directly to the customers — that is, to children.

Mattel was apparently the first company to grasp this phenomenon, and saw its sales increase from $6 million to $49 million in the space of six years. (I have no idea how accurate this information is, nor do we learn how much money Mattel spent on its TV advertising; but still … the DTC point seems valid.)"

Interesting - what next

Broken Flowers

Don revisits past relationships. He is apparently successful and alone, having thrown away a relationship. He appears not to feel much or give much.

What does he learn?

• No one seams that happy
• He only comes alight when talking to Women
• His ex's are a odd group, who seem to long for the past also in some way
• All the Ex's seem important to him and him to them, although they where apparently only short relationships. Do we all need to believe that we are important to people?
• The flowers have a strange effect on the females
  

Overall

• Nicely written
• Bill Murray does an ok job
• Nice directed. The filming and the silences give you a good feeling or being there in the moments.
• Strange and unexplained relationship with the neighbour

Australia: Toilet Rolls and other first impressions (part 1)

Observations

• The toilet roles are sturdy, far to good for the single journey they take. The actual paper however seems appropriately designed, but the roll core is robust to say the least. What is behind this? Are children still making their first trains from toilet roles and washing up liquid bottles still? I hope so.
  
• The men like there sheds, sheds are everywhere, sheds are a goal, they are advertised in full page ads. Sheds are big, like little houses almost, like caves. What does this say about the family and the social structures?
• The people are diverse, obviously.
• Why are the toilets all separate from the bathrooms, you sit in your own little room looking at the door 0.5 metres from your nose. They like there privacy here apparently. Although it is cozy after a while. I can take my laptop in and write blogs......
  
• Oh yes the metric system. Its great to see a country actually and completely implementing this. Not even the old coggers use ft and inches. A lesson for others here.
  
• The sky is blue, very blue, against the olive green eucalyptus there is beauty on the scape. This colour palette is going to take a while to get used to (hopefully).
  
• The Tin roofs or the Clay tiles and the brick built homes. The sense of confidence and security and longevity that that brings is nice. No wood framing here that would be blown down or eaten by white ants (termites).
• Wine cheaper than beer
• The cool winds
• People are friendly, kind of. They seem easily to take offence, perhaps that's just me?
• The number of small shops everywhere it great.
• The coffee, better than that french roast that North America likes
• Its not just the water in the sink that goes the other way the revolving doors go clockwise (or do the clocks go round the other way here to). This is important to remember for obvious reasons
  
• Counter meals and paying on the way out. No waiting around for the server to serve.
  
• Great local cheeses and wine and beers
• The Entrepreneurial spirit and optimism about the future is just really great and very catching
• The Ocean and early morning walks by the ocean. It is rejuvenating to live by the sea again
  

Living

Live adventurously.

When choices arise, do you take the way that offers the fullest opportunity for the use of your gifts in the service of the community and humanity?

Let your life speak and you have found your purpose.

Hafiz - Persian Poet of 14th century

Don't surrender your loneliness
So quickly.
Let it cut deep.

Let it ferment and season you.
As few human
Or even divine ingredients can.

Something missing in my heart tonight
Has made my eyes so soft,
My voice
So tender,

My need of God
Absolutely
Clear.

Hafiz

Childhood

"Childhood is that state which ends the moment a puddle is first viewed as an obstacle instead of an opportunity."

Kathy Williams

In life there is not back

In life there is no going back only foreward.
Looking back is only to help you look forward.
Thinking about going back is going forward with your eyes shut.
So oneward it is.

Song for today: Nothing Compares 2 U

It's been seven hours and fifteen days Since you took your love away I go out every night and sleep all day Since you took your love away Since you been gone I can do whatever I want I can see whomever I choose I can eat my dinner in a fancy restaurant But nothing I said nothing can take away these blues `Cause nothing compares Nothing compares to you It's been so lonely without you here Like a bird without a song Nothing can stop these lonely tears from falling Tell me baby where did I go wrong I could put my arms around every boy I see But they'd only remind me of you I went to the doctor n'guess what he told me Guess what he told me He said girl u better try to have fun No matter what you'll do But he's a fool `Cause nothing compares Nothing compares to you all the flowers that you planted, mama In the back yard All died when you went away I know that living with you baby was sometimes hard But I'm willing to give it another try Nothing compares Nothing compares to you Nothing compares Nothing compares to you Nothing compares Nothing compares to you

The Managers Role

If the goal is create the best garden you can....

The plants need to placed it the best location to flourish and grow and fulfil their part. They need to be able to do this without impact the others.

If a plant is not growing then you need to question why, is it location, soil, fertilizer, water, to much pruning, to little pruning.

The gardener put the plants to best use. they know that the plants have there place and nature and will aways tend to be who they are, some are more flexible that others........

Memories

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Maya Angelou

Henry James - important things in life

“Three things in human life are important:

the first is to be kind;

the second is to be kind;

and the third is to be kind.”

Henry James

We are history now

We are all on a narrow edge in time, narrow and short but instant and continuous.

We are histroy now.



(thanks Francis for the thought)

We all have strings.

What are yours?

The things that resonant with you.

That make you happy and sad, quiet or angry?
Do you know how to play your strings?
To make music with them?
How often do you practice with them?

......

(PS Thanks Jean for this thought)

Organisations are olive Trees

The goal is the fruit, the reward, the reason, the concentrated tasty bits that sustain and enrich.

How do you get the best fruit?

Treat the olive tree well, the way that it wants and needs to be treated and it will be generate wood and leaves and grow big and tall, but little fruit will come as it as turned its attentions to the leaves.

So, in the early days water it well and let it grow, it needs nutrition and to be nurtured in good amounts, but very little fruit will come, but the roots will grow and leaves with shine.

Fruit requires a little less water and nutrition and a little more dry spells to get the creative juices flowing and the fruit will overwelm.

(Of course you need basically the right climate and soil -Govenment, law, order, infrastructure and Regulation perhaps)

This thought needs to grow some more.................


The gardener

A educated mind

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.

Aristotle